7 Habits of Successful Online Content Marketers

Do you struggle with getting results from your content? Do you have a hard time controlling your brand assets online and keeping them up-to-date and impactful? Perhaps you could benefit from the best practices of successful online content marketers.

The internet is like the Wild West, and controlling brands online has become increasingly difficult. Once your brand is placed on the web, assets and information get misused and quickly out of date. This is particularly hard because these assets get put on all sorts of websites. Worse, most brand owners have no idea where these assets go and how they're being used.

So, what's a smart marketer to do? Here are seven steps that will get you going in the right direction:

1.Have a plan. Most companies don't think through what content they need and what that content is supposed to accomplish in engaging consumers. Put together a customer journey map and figure out what information the customer needs at what point in the journey.

2.Use your bullets wisely. Often, companies build content and then just "spray and pray," aimlessly sending out content to whomever and wherever they can get it placed. They hope that by sending tons of content all over the place, they're building their brand. That creates noise, not engagement. The smarter approach is to know your audience and where they go. Be very focused about what you're doing; build a set of targets and focus your attention only on those customers and locations.

3.Tell a unifying story. Instead of sending single, discrete pieces of content, integrate your message and package it together in interactive, dynamic experiences that engage the customer more completely in every digital touchpoint. Sites like Prezi.com and SYNQY.com can help you tell more integrated stories.